Project Summary/Abstract Our program provides veterinarians with rigorous research training leading to the PhD degree at Stanford University. They join top-ranked graduate home programs in the biosciences, are mentored by outstanding researchers, and develop stronger ties to their veterinary profession through the Department of Comparative Medicine. The rationale is that intense research training will enable more veterinarians to compete effectively for research grant support and become independent principal investigators, which will address a national need. Trainees choose one of 14 graduate home programs in the Biosciences: biochemistry, biology, biomedical informatics, biophysics, cancer biology, chemical & systems biology, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology & immunology, molecular & cellular physiology, neurosciences, stem cell biology & regenerative medicine, and structural biology. Program faculty include six comparative medicine mentors (who are veterinarians and faculty in the Department of Comparative Medicine), and 17 research mentors. During the next funding cycle, funds are requested to support 4 trainees at any one time. Overall, we seek to produce highly trained veterinary researchers that will assume leadership roles and exert a sustained, powerful influence in their research field and in the veterinary profession.